Health
by AcesXSpades
Summary: A psych nurse with healing powers joins the BPRD. But she and Hellboy can't stop getting under eachothers skin.  Dez is mine, everyone else belongs to Dark Horse Comics. M for language and probably later on  Enjoy
1. Chapter 1

"Miss Salem?" came a soft female voice. A woman in navy scrubs straightened herself and turned to look at the little girl that addressed her.

"Yes, honey?" the woman answered kindly.

"Do you know where my daddy is?" she asked staring up with big green eyes.

"He's in surgery, hun. When he's done with this patient, he'll come see you," she explained. "Come on. Let's get a soda from the staff lounge," she said with a smile. She took the tiny hand in her slender hand. The woman sat next to the little brunette on a sun-faded blue couch in the staff lounge. They each had a fizzing Coca-Cola in hand.

Round green eyes looked up at the woman. "You're so pretty, Miss Salem. I wanna be just like you when I grow up."

The woman chuckled good-naturedly and ruffled the little one's hair. "I'm sure you'll be even prettier." The woman had straight black hair pulled back into a long ponytail. Dark blue eyes the color of sapphires looked down at the little girl through thick black lashes. She was an attractive woman, though only thought of herself as average. She body was slim with slender muscle but still had womanly curves; she worked out a little to keep in shape for her job. Her ever-pale skin seemed flawless, but she had tattoos hidden under her scrubs.

A tall man with round green eyes and short brown hair walked in wearing green scrubs. "Sarah, why are you having soda before dinner?" he asked in a fatherly stern voice.

"It's my fault, Steve. I couldn't help giving sugar to such a sweet girl," she said standing.

The man chuckled. "I have problems saying no to her too." Sarah hopped off the couch and hugged the woman's leg. "Thanks for watching her, Dez."

"Anytime," she said with a smile. "I gotta go do my rounds, my shift is almost over." Desdemona Salem walked down the brightly lit hospital hallway. She was head nurse of the secure upper floors of the hospital where they kept the psychological patients. A young woman with a passion for the insane, she was recently out of college and already had made her way up in Rosemary's Hospital which included an E.R., a clinic, and a psych ward in a five story white brick building. After taking her rounds and passing on the information to the night nurse, she headed home as the sun set.

She lived in an average brick apartment building on the second floor. It was a nondescript one bedroom that she lived in alone. She had been wanting to get a pet of some sort so she wasn't so alone, but this complex didn't allow pets. She had been meaning to move, but got too busy after her promotion. Only twenty-four and she felt like an old woman married to her job. With no social life to speak of, she didn't have any friends outside of work.

Plopping herself down on a time-worn leather couch, she kicked off her shoes. A buzzing noise sounded as her cell phone vibrated from within her many pockets of her scrub pants. She growled, "Stupid phone. What do you want from me?" She slid out her cell and saw the number was restricted. "Great," she said dripping with sarcasm. "Oh well, nothing else to do." Flipping the cell open, she answered.

The call that followed shocked her. A man explained that he had a job offer. To take this job would mean that her existence would have to be erased. It was a top secret government job of some sort. She guessed it was either medical or psychological sine the man said they could use her expertise. Whatever the job was, it scared her.

But it also excited her. She loved her job, loved working with crazy people and sneaking sodas to Sarah when her dad was in surgery. She hated repetition. And that's what her life had become. Repetitive. She didn't have anyone that cared about her except little Sarah. Her mother and younger brother had died in a car crash two years ago and her father had deserted the family years ago and now lived several states away. After sitting in silence for few minutes, mauling the job over, she finally accepted.

The next morning, Desdemona had packed two bags and was ready when an unmarked taxi showed up at the front of her building. She tossed her bags inside and hoped in. Later she arrived at what looked like a processing plant. The taxi dropped her off and left her at the enormous gate. She walked over to what looked like a call box. She pressed the only button she saw "Um…hello? This is Desdemona Salem. Um… I don't really know what to do, I guess…" she trailed off feeling stupid. The gate swung ominously open and she walked about a hundred yards to the front door, which too, swung open.

There was a large open room with impressive columns, a desk at the far end with a man behind, and a huge insignia on the floor. She walked up to the carving on the floor and examined it before looking up to the man behind the desk. "I'm Desdemona Salem…" she trailed off again, feeling very nervous.

"Step on, please," the man said.

"What?" she asked, confused.

He gestured with his hand at the insignia. "Step on, please."

"Oh." She stepped on and soon felt the floor vibrate. Panicked, she looked around and saw that the symbol had lowered itself an inch and was now sliding steadily, like an elevator, into the floor. She looked around curiously, waiting for it to stop. She fingered the silver chain around her neck that held a pentagram at her chest, just above her breasts. A man in a suit came to great her when the floor stopped moving. She suddenly felt under dressed. All she wore was a pair of black jeans, a grey v-necked t-shirt, and some black tennis shoes. She hadn't felt the need to dress up since she was moving. The man had introduced himself as Agent Myers and offered to take her bags. Not wanting to feel useless, she only let him take one so that she could carry the other.

He took her through a maze of hallways that seemed like some mix between hospital halls and a museum. They had the look and feel of a hospital with glass cases that housed artifacts and pictures. One picture in particular caught her eye. She paused at a case and pointed out the picture. "What's with the monkey?"

Agent Myers looked. He chuckled. "That's Hellboy as a baby, back when Professor Broom found him. You'll meet him later. He's all grown up now."

They had come to a random metal door that Agent Myers opened with a key card that he handed over to her. "This will be your room. Do whatever you like to it."

She looked around and saw nothing but white and metal. It made her eyes water. "Ugh, I think I'll tone it down some." The man chuckled. "I'm Desdemona Salem by the way," she said setting down her bag to shake his hand.

"Agent John T. Myers," he said accepting. "You can unpack for a while. Professor Broom and the other agents will be back soon. I'll bring you to meet the Professor when he gets back." She nodded in thanks and said good-bye to unpack.

This room was ungodly bright. She opened up her suitcases, put away her underwear, bras, and what-not, then threw her remaining shirts and pants around the room just to break the white. Her wardrobe was dark and monotonous. It was mostly black with grays and some dark colors. She looked around at her handiwork and decided she needed new bed sheets or something. She hated her room being a mess, but not as much as she hated how horribly bright the room was. Exploring the room, she turned on a bedside lamp and a corner lamp before shutting every other light off. The room now had a comfortable yellow glow to it rather than ghastly white. Maybe she could put some clothes away now and not go blind. But not now, there was a knock at the door. "Door's open," she called.

"Miss Salem?" came Agent Myer's voice as he opened the door. "Professor Broom is waiting to meet you."

They entered a large two-floored library with books up to the ceiling and a large aquarium on one wall with no fish in it. 'Weird,' she thought. They walked back to a wooden desk where a fragile looking man sat writing. "Professor Broom, this is Desdemona Salem."

He looked up. "Ah, yes." The man stood with the aid of a cane and walked around the desk to shake her hand. "It's a pleasure to meet you, Miss Salem."

"A pleasure as well, Professor Broom," she said politely.

"I trust you had a pleasant trip to the Bureau," he said in a warm voice that reminded her of a grandfather.

"It was fine, but if you don't mind postponing pleasantries for a bit. Why am I here? And where is here?" she asked.

"You are at the Bureau for Paranormal Research and Defense. We research and protect the unknowing masses from all things all things paranormal."

'Is this guy serious? Or is he a psych patient?' she thought, very confused.

"He is quite sane, I can assure you," came a calculating voice from behind.

She turned and saw a blue fish-man with a big black…thing around his neck. She tried not to stare, but all she managed to do was not make her jaw drop. "Holy shit," she said quietly. "Um… I'm sorry. I don't mean to stare. Um… What? Who…?"

"I am Agent Abraham Sapien. And this is my breathing apparatus," he explained nonchalantly, gesturing with a webbed hand at the collar.

"I'm…" she began.

"Desdemona Salem. Maters in medicine and psychology. Twenty-four. With healing abilities," he rattled off. Ok, most of that he could have gotten off of resumes and whatnot. How did he know about her power? "I can read minds," he explained.

"Fantastic," she said a little disturbed by having her history read within a second's time.

"What are the extent of your healing abilities?" the Professor asked.

"I can heal wounds pretty easily, depends on the extent, sometimes I can only help it along. Disease, viruses, and the like are harder, I can only help them along. I can bring people back from the dead as much as a shock unit can, they have to still essentially be alive and recently have their heart stopped for me to do anything."

Professor Broom nodded thoughtfully. "You'll do wonderfully in the medical bay."

"Hey, pops," came a booming voice. Desdemona turned to see the speaker. This time she couldn't even hold her jaw up. At least she now knew why the doors around here were so big. Standing at nearly seven and a half feet was a hulking red man with a tail and two large circular stumps on his head. Golden eyes glared at her when he noticed someone was staring.

"Yes, Hellboy. Come in," Broom said gesturing with his free hand.

He thumped over in large black boots. "Who's this?" he jerked an enormous stone thumb in her direction.

"This is Desdemona Salem. She will be working in the medical bay, helping patch _you_ up after missions," the Professor said. His tone was serious but there was a sparkle to his eye that said he was teasing the giant red man.

"Eh, Abe does fine," he said crossing his bulky arms.

"And should Abraham be the one that needs medical care?" he asked, trying to get Hellboy to see the importance of having someone that knew medicine. He rolled his golden eyes. "Agent Myers, will you show Miss Salem around?" Myers agrees and led Dez out of the room.

"You weren't joking when you said he's grown up," she said still a little awestruck

"You'll get used to things here. Don't worry."

xxxxx

After a restless night of sleep in an unfamiliar bed, Dez woke to a pounding knock on her door. She groaned and rolled out of bed. She answered the door in a black tank top and baggy navy pajama pants. Her black hair, which ended where her shoulder blades stopped, was messed and shaggy. She opened the door and crossed her arms over her chest to cover where she had no bra. "Yeah?" she asked groggily. Hellboy looked down at her quizzically. "Oh, Hellboy," she said waking up. "What do you need?"

"You to do your job," he growled. She raised an eyebrow in confusion. He lifted his shirt and revealed a gash on his side with some glass pieces inside. "And don't tell anyone."

Her gaze went back to his face. "Why?"

"Just don't," he snapped.

She sighed and opened the door all the way. "Alright. I'll see what I can find." She stepped aside and he walked into her room. He looked around, noticing all the dark clothes thrown around the room. Watching the look on his face she explained, "It was too white in here." She walked over to the bathroom. "In here. I gotta get the glass out."

"Can't you just heal it?"

"If you want glass inside you forever. It'd itch like hell. Ever touch insulation?" she said slipping a black hoodie on and zipping it half way. "Sit down," she gestured to her unkempt bed. He snarled at being told what to do. "Do you want me to fix you or not?" He grumbled and sat heavily on her bed. For a moment she thought it would break. "Ok, shirt off. I'm going to find something to get the glass out." Hellboy wasn't one who did well with orders, but this was apparently going to go a lot faster if he listened. The glass was starting to itch. She came back with a damp cloth, a towel, a cup, and some tweezers from her first aide kit. She lay the towel out by his side and set to work plucking out a large piece of glass from the gash.

"Ow," he complained. Dez laughed. Hellboy looked down at her.

"Sorry," she giggled and kept working. "Aren't you supposed to be a big bad demon?" she teased.

"Big bad _somethin'_," he grumbled.

"Lighten up, big guy. This is the last piece," she said plucking the last shard and dropping it in the cup with the others. She ran her hand along his side, down his back near his side, and down his chest and stomach near his side.

While Hellboy didn't mind the nurse feeling him up, it was incredibly odd and random. "Uh, what are you doing, kid?"

"Feeling the extent of the wound," she explained, repeated her rundown. "Not too bad, a little deep." She gently laid her hand over the gash. Hellboy cringed slightly at the odd sensation. Her hand grew hot and warmed the wound till he went numb in that area. Looking down curiously, he watched as red skin stitched itself together. He looked at Dez, her eyes were closed, messed hair leaving a few black strands on her pale face. His golden eyes followed down her cheeks to pink lips that looked soft, down her slender neck and collar bone to the rim of her shirt. "What are you doing?" she asked calmly without opening her eyes, she sounded almost as if in a trance.

"What?"

"When I'm healing someone, I can feel everything in their body. Including hormone changes," her voice was still trance-like but a smirk tugged on her lips. "And… done." She opened her eyes and gave him one last rundown to make sure everything was ok. "All better, big guy," she said and lightly smacked his side where the gash had been. "Alright, get out." He looked at her like she was crazy. "I'm still in my pajamas. Out."

He grumbled. She was an irritating little shit. All the same, he stood and she showed him to the door. "Don't tell anyone," he reminded her.

"Patient confidentiality," she promise and shut the door in his face.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Introduction's over with, more plot next time. About Hellboy's height, he's about 6'6" in the movie and 8'6" in the comics, so I went with the middle. Hope this chapter sparked a little interest in the story to come.


	2. Chapter 2

Dez lounged on an overstuffed couch in the library. "What about harpies?"

"Those are also real," Abe said from his tank. This had been going on for over an hour. Dez would list off any mythological being and Abe would tell her if it was real and if he had seen one. "They are quite ugly." She laughed.

"Bigfoot?"

"Sasquatches are real, though very shy," he said. Dez was having fun. It had been a week since she moved in. She had enjoyed the company of Abe and the Professor. She'd barely seen Hellboy since patching him up and hadn't spoken more than two words since. Dez smiled brightly.

"Loch Ness Monster?"

"It is actually a plesiosaur that has adapted to a smaller body of water," he explained.

"Cool. Fairies?"

"Very real. Tooth fairies in particular are quite vicious. Even Red had quite the time with them." Dez laughed and Abe did his equivalent of smiling.

"What's so funny," growled Hellboy.

"Oh nothing, big guy. Just laughing at you," she smiled playfully.

"Yeah? How am I funny?" he asked defensively.

"You getting your red tail kicked by a few little fairies."

"Actually, there were thousands and they really are quite vicious," Abe corrected.

Dez turned back to him. "Come on, Abe. I'm teasing the big guy, help me out."

"Ah yes, Red being beat by small fairies," he corrected himself. Dez laughed.

"Annoying little shit," Hellboy said glaring at her.

Dez pouted her lower lip and looked up at him with big sapphire eyes. "So mean," she said pretending to be hurt. "I gotta get to the medical bay and check the stock of supplies. See you later, Abe," she said hoisting herself off the couch and waving at Abe before leaving.

"Good bye, Miss Salem," he said with a wave.

"Dez," she corrected and shut the door.

Hellboy plopped himself where Dez had been sitting. "Annoying, isn't she?" he grumbled.

"She's very nice. You should get to know her," Abe said.

Hellboy scoffed. "Whatever."

xxxxx

Now in black scrubs with a white BPRD symbol on the left breast, Dez had been radioed to be in the medical bay and ready when the agents arrived from their latest mission in the Appalachian mountains. She was busying herself making sure all the emergency equipment was set up.

The door burst open. Agent Myers came in with another agent and a bloody Hellboy carrying an unconscious Abe covered in a dark blue liquid that she guessed to be his blood. "What happed?" she asked, keeping calm as Hellboy lay Abe on one of the beds. "Sit down, you're loosing a lot of blood," she ordered Hellboy. She quickly scanned Abe and multiple circular gashes that looked as though someone had bitten chunks out of him. She quickly set to cutting off Abe's shirt to get clear access to all the wounds. "What happened?" she asked again, cleaning the wounds.

"There was a group of crazy people in the mountains doing a chant around a fire. They attacked and started biting and tearing into us," Hellboy explained.

"Crazy people?" she mused. Once Abe was cleaned, she began bandaging him up.

"Aren't you going to heal him?" Hellboy asked.

"Yes, in a little bit. But he isn't the only one that needs attention," she said looking at Hellboy pointedly. "He's stable and the bleeding has stopped. _You_, however, are going to bleed out soon. I have no idea why you're still conscious," she said shaking her head.

"Demon," he said gesturing to himself with his stone thumb. She rolled her eyes.

"Well, you still bleed." She came over and began examining Hellboy. "Loose the shirt," she ordered, still looking over one of his arms. He grumbled but did it anyway. There weren't many bites on his front, she guessed he could swat away frontal attacks much easier than someone jumping on his back, which was littered with bites and chunks missing. "You sure that humans did this?" she asked. He glared down at her. "Ok, ok. This will sting," she warned. Pouring some peroxide on a rag, she gently dabbed his wounds. Hellboy grit his teeth and stayed silent. She guessed he didn't want to show any sign of weakness while Myers and the other agent were here. She looked over at them. "You guys have any injuries?"

"No. Hellboy kept them off us."

She nodded. "Ok. Can you go inform Professor Broom of Agent Hellboy's and Agent Sapien's condition?" With that, the two agents left. Hellboy was silently thankful for Dez getting them to leave. "I'm going to bandage you up for a while so I can work on Abe again. You don't look good."

"I know, I know. I'm ugly," he waved her off, used to the comments on his looks.

"What? No you're not. I meant you look tired, sick. The blood loss is taking a toll. You should lie down," she said gently.

Hellboy rolled his eyes and scoffed. "I'll be fine."

"Ok, just take it easy," she kindly said. Hellboy was put off his guard by her kindness. He was used to her sarcasm and teasing. Wait, did she say he wasn't ugly? She wrapped him in bandages and gauze, leaving him to lounge on a hospital bed.

Turning her attention to Abe she started with his arm. Her hands heated as she placed them over the wounds on his arm. She spent the next hour working on his arms, it was starting to wear on her. Hearing a deep snore she turned and saw that Hellboy had fallen asleep sitting on one of the beds with his back propped against the wall and his arms crossed over his massive chest. Dez smiled and rolled her eyes. She placed her hands on Abe's chest and began to heal the wounds there. A shock ran through her mind and her thoughts suddenly flashed before her eyes. She gasped and stumbled back, crashing into Hellboy's legs on her way to the ground. Hellboy woke with a start and looked around. When he saw Dez on the ground he burst out in booming laughter.

She rubbed her head. "What the hell…?"

"I apologize," came the weak voice of Abe. When he regained consciousness, his powers must have kicked in automatically.

"Not your fault," she said from the floor. Hellboy bent forward and scooped her up with his stone hand, bringing her to her feet.

"Thanks, big guy." She yawned. "I still have a lot more to heal on you. Can I touch you without getting another mental shock, Abe?" He nodded. Hellboy watched as Desdemona lay her hands gently on Abe's stomach. Her slender hands wandered Abe's body, healing where they went. "Ok, I'm finished. Go get some rest. I'll check on you later."

"Thank you, Miss Salem," Abe said standing.

"Dez," she corrected. Once Abe was gone she saw Hellboy with a glare on his face that he quickly hid. "What was that about?" she asked.

"What?" he said acting nonchalantly.

"What do you mean what? That glare." She put her hands on her hips.

"What glare?" Hellboy asked, getting defensive.

She rolled her eyes. "Forget it." She yawned. "Alright, big guy. Your turn." She yawned again. She started out on his right arm where the fewest bites were. She unwrapped the bandages as she went to reveal more wounds. The numbing heat from Dez's hands worked its magic on the serrated bite wounds.

Professor Broom walked in. "How is he?" he asked in a fatherly voice.

"I'm fine, pop," Hellboy answered annoyed but sounded kind underneath the tough act.

"I just came back from seeing Abraham. Well done, Miss Salem."

"Thank you, Professor," she said with a yawn.

"Are you tired, my dear," he asked with fatherly concern.

"Abe had several wounds, some were incredibly deep," she explained. "I've been healing for three or four hours."

"You should take a break and get some rest," the Professor said.

She shook her head. "There's still a lot to be done on Hellboy." The Professor gave her a concerned look. "I'll be fine. I don't leave my patients till I've done everything I can."

He nodded approvingly. "That is good to know. I'm glad to know I've picked the right person for the job. Good night, Miss Salem. Straight to bed when Miss Salem is done with you, Hellboy," he instructed and left.

Dez was left with a warm smile on her face as she turned back to Hellboy and placed a hand on his chest to heal a rather large bite there. He looked down at her small pale hand on his red chest and the smile on her face. "What?" he asked.

"Hm?" she breathed moving to the wound below the previous one.

"What's the smile for?"

"Oh, he's a sweet man," she said in her trance voice and moved to his left arm. She yawned.

"Yeah, he is," Hellboy said with a soft tone that she had never heard from him. She looked up at his face and saw a small smile sitting on his lips.

"You're lucky, Hellboy," she said turning back to his arm.

"Why?" he asked looking down to her.

She healed one on his wrist. "You have a father that cares for you and loves you." Hellboy watched her for some sort of emotion behind her statement that might give him some clue as to why she said it. But in her trance state she showed no emotion. Dez took his flesh hand in her hand to heal the bite there. She yawned. "I need to get to your back, big guy." He swung his immense legs over the edge of the bed. Dez knelt behind him on the bed and started with his shoulder blades. Another hour on the enormous red back and Desdemona was ready to pass out. Hellboy stood and stretched. Dez yawned. "Oh, last one," she said realizing she had missed one on his hip bone. She stood and stumbled forward. She tried desperately to regain her balance, but she was just too tired. Hellboy caught her around the waist with his stone hand.

He chuckled. "Klutz."

When she righted herself and got her balance back she slapped Hellboy's chest. "I'm exhausted from healing your red ass," she snapped putting a hand to her head.

Hellboy didn't take her snap well. "It's not my fault you're too weak to handle it," he growled.

"Too weak? I'm not the one that took a three hour nap half way through the day!" she snapped voice rising.

"You're the one that _ordered_ me to sleep. What the hell is your problem?" he roared, loosing his minuscule temper.

"My _problem_ is the big red thorn in my ass that insults me after I spend hours fixing his red hide!" she yelled. Her hand went to her head again.

"I'm not the bitch screaming at the guy that saved her ass from falling on her ass for the second time today," he countered.

"Just get out," she said, running low on breath and not wanting to show it. Hellboy stormed towards the door. She went to follow him to slam the door behind him but lost the thin thread of balance she had earlier regained and stumbled. She flung her arms out instinctively to try to grab something. All she managed to do was make herself fall sideways rather than forward. Though the result wasn't any improvement over falling on her face. She fell to the side and hit her head sharply on the foot board of the hospital bed.

Hellboy stopped in the doorway when her heard a crack then a heavy thud. He turned and saw Desdemona laying splayed on the floor. When he kneeled beside her he noticed there was blood on the edge of the footboard. He scooped her limp form up with his stone hand so she was more in a sitting position. With his flesh hand, he brushed her hair to the side, looking for where the blood was coming from. He found a long thin gash above her left temple. He leaned his head in and noticed her breathing was slow. The blood slowly seeped from her head wound. "Oh crap." He lifted her up in his arms, being gentle with her head, and went to find the Professor or Abe.

He kicked open the heavy library door and scanned the room quickly. "Abe! Professor!" he boomed. Abe swam into view.

"Oh my. What happened?"

"She was too tired and fell over. She hit her head on the footboard. She's bleeding," he explained. The Professor was slowly making his way down the stairs.

"Lay her on the couch," he instructed Hellboy.

Hellboy lay her down gently. The Professor examined Dez's head as best he could with his failing sight. Meanwhile, Abe was out of his tank and in his apparatus walking through the door. He lay a webbed hand on her forehead. "Oh," he said a little shocked, pulling his hand away.

"What is it?" Hellboy asked.

"Well, she's dreaming," Abe explained.

"And?" he asked.

"Good news, her brain seems to be functioning normally. Bad news… she may have a concussion."

The Professor nodded. "Then we must wake her."

"Why? She's like this 'cause she needs sleep."

"We need to make sure that she is functioning normally. She will also need to be supervised for the next forty-eight hours and woken every hour to observe her condition," the Professor explained.

With his flesh hand, Hellboy gently shook Desdemona's shoulder. "Hey, kid. Wake up."

She groaned. "What the hell do you want. I'm sleeping," she mumbled.

"You hit your head. Gashed it pretty good," Hellboy explained.

"Ugh, that explains the headache," she said, eyes still closed propping herself up. She blinked her eyes open. "Where… Oh, hi Professor. Hi, Abe," she said putting a hand to her head. "Do I have a concussion?"

"It appears there is no serious damage," Abe said.

She nodded. "Ok, so just in case. Can I go to bed?"

The Professor nodded. "Of course, my dear. Hellboy, could you?"

"Yeah. Come on, kid," he said, hoisting her up in his arms again. She rested her head on his massive red shoulder. Closing her eyes, she was already half asleep by the time Hellboy left the library.

About halfway to her room, Dez was sleeping heavily. When he got to her room he realized it was locked. He sighed. "Hey, kid. I need your key."

She grunted and woke slightly. "What? Why?"

"So I can get in your room and get you in bed," he said trying not to get frustrated.

"Oh right. Here," she said, waking more. She reached around in her pockets and fumbled her key card out of her scrubs. She reached out and swiped it with a weak arm. Hellboy looked around, she had done some redecorating. The clothes were cleaned up, the bed now black, there was a dark grey couch and black rug. The white walls were broken up by panels that were different shades of grey. She a had dark cherry wood coffee table, dresser, and TV stand. "You're warm," she muttered, half asleep again.

Hellboy looked down at her. "What?" But she was already sleeping. He lay her down on the bed, she instantly rolled over and pulled the covers up to her chin. Hellboy plopped down on her couch. It was going to be a long night.


	3. Chapter 3

"Miss Salem? Dez?" Abe said shaking her shoulder lightly. Hellboy had fallen asleep on her couch around five in the morning, about an hour ago. It was time to wake her again to check on her.

She rolled over to face him. "Hey, Abe," she said groggily, but clearer than she had been speaking all night.

"You sound better," he informed her.

She smiled and sat up. "I feel like a truck hit me." She said rubbing her head.

"Actually it was a footboard," Abe corrected.

Dez laughed. "Right."

Hellboy woke at the sound of Dez laughing. "_Great_, is she hysterical again?" he grumbled.

She chuckled. "I'm fine." "Yeah? You look like shit," Hellboy pointed out.

"You don't look like you fared much better," she teased.

"I've been up all night making sure you aren't brain damaged," he grunted.

"Aw, my hero," she teased. She gently put a hand on Abe's arm. "Can I have a minute with the big guy?" Abe nodded and left. When the door was shut she turned to Hellboy. He had a glare on his face. "What?"

"What?" he asked defensively.

She shook her head. After a moment she said, "Hellboy, last night… I'm sorry I snapped."

The apology caught him off guard. "No problem, kid."

"I was really tired and frustrated at how weak I was," she explained.

"Yeah, you were a pain in the ass," he said and smirked slightly.

She laughed. "I guess I am. But I'm not as big a thorn as you."

"Hey, at least I don't say weird shit."

She cocked her head. "What?"

"Last night, whenever I woke you up, you'd say weird shit. Or random," he said with a shrug.

"Like what?" she asked. She couldn't remember anything from last night.

He shrugged. "That I was a cute baby, that I had a huge hand. Things like that."

She blushed. "Was I really that out?"

He chuckled. "Yeah you were. Said I was cute a couple times," he said with a smirk.

"Oh god, can we get Abe back in here before I have to hear more about how stupid I was," she said covering her face with a hand. Hellboy smirked victoriously. She glared up at him. "Shut up." He laughed. "Hey, did I ever fix the one on your hip?"

"Hm? No," he said cautiously.

"Come here." Hellboy glared at the order and stayed put. "Come here or I'm coming there. Do you really want me trying to walk again?" The little shit guilt tripped him into hoisting his enormous red body off her couch. Once standing beside her bed, she tossed the covers aside and sat on her knees at the edge of the bed. Dez slid up his shirt enough to show his hip. The wound was already beginning to heal. "You heal fast," she commented and looked it over. "Thick skin. You don't cut easily, do you?" she asked, gently feeling the edges of the wound.

"Nope," he responded.

"Are you sure they were _regular _crazy people in the mountains?"

"What do you mean?"

"Well…" She grabbed his arm and bit into it.

"What the hell?" he exclaimed snatching his arm back and taking a step away.

"_Ow_. See? Nothing. It hurt me instead of you," she said gesturing to his arm. He looked down where she had bit and saw only a slightly darkened circle that quickly faded.

"Am I… interrupting?" came the hesitant voice of Abe.

"I was just examining the big guy's skin. Normal human teeth can't break it the way those people in the mountains did."

"Hm, this is true," Abe mused. Dez yawned. "You need more rest."

She nodded. "After I change out of these scrubs," she said hanging her legs off the bed. She made to stand.

"Are you sure that's a good idea?" Hellboy asked.

"No, but I'm doing it." She hoisted herself off the bed and stumbled. Hellboy's hands instantly went to her. One large stone hand cupping her far side, the flesh hand grabbing her near arm. "I got it, red," she said. He let go but was ready to catch her. "I just stood too fast." She walked unsteadily to her dresser and grabbed some clothes before heading into her bathroom. A minute later there was a thud and a soft, "Ow."

Hellboy and Abe were instantly at her bathroom door. Hellboy flung the door open and saw a half dressed Dez picking herself up off the floor. In a socks, a black pair of sweat pants, and a black bra she stood. "You ok, kid?" Hellboy asked. As she righted herself, it revealed a black biohazard symbol on her hip that stood out prominently against the flat pale planes of her stomach.

"Lost my balance putting my socks on," she explained.

"Klutz." She stuck her tongue out at Hellboy and turned her back to him to put a dark green t-shirt on. Her entire left side of her back was covered in a black tribal tattoo, the black contrasting sharply with her pale skin. It began at the center base of her neck and curved slightly towards her left hip before vanishing beneath her pant line.

When she turned back she saw Hellboy and Abe staring. "What? Never seen a tattoo?" Both looked away and she chuckled. She walked towards the door, her feet still unsteady. Hellboy watched uneasily as she slowly made her way back to her bed. She sat down heavily. "Don't you two have missions or something to do besides baby-sit me all day?"

"Someone's supposed to keep an eye on you," Hellboy reminded.

"Since when do demons baby-sit?" she teased.

"Since you decided to crack your skull open."

"You annoy me," she said.

"Ditto," he said crossing his arms. "Can't you just heal your head?"

"I healed the cut and I reduced the swelling of my brain, but it's a lot harder to heal myself." A beeping noise sounded from both Hellboy's and Abe's hips. "Mission?"

"Yep," Hellboy nodded.

"Don't get hurt," she called as they ran from her room.

xxxxx

Dez lounged on the couch in the library talking to Abe who was treading water in his tank. It had been nearly two weeks since Desdemona's accident. Hellboy and Dez were constantly tormenting each other.

Lately, the reports of attacks in the mountains were becoming more frequent. "So what are these 'crazy people' like?" she asked Abe.

"Rather violent and loved to bite. Almost as if they were rabid," he explained.

"I've seen people with advanced cases of rabies. They're scary, but I still don't think any of them could have torn Hellboy's skin the way the 'crazy people' did. Even so, rabies usually takes three to eight weeks to show. After a person becomes rabid, it doesn't take long for them to die. Did you identify any of the 'crazy people' from missing persons?"

"There was a woman that bears a 98.9% resemblance to a Mrs. Joan Walker," Abe said.

"How long has she been missing?" she asked.

"Approximately six years and eight months."

She thought for a moment. "I've never heard of rabies incubation longer than seven years, and that's extremely rare. Hell it's rare that it incubates longer than _one_ year. It can't be possible that there is a whole group of rabid people that have lasted this long. And if they do have rabies, they'll be dying off soon if they only recently have been showing."

"Reports of these attacks date back three years."

"I don't think that's possible for rabies," she mused. "What exactly are the reports of the attacks?"

"Disappearances mostly. The few witnesses that survive say they saw a group of wild people engaging in cannibalism or the group trying to attack and eat the witness."

"Hm… I've heard of something where humans get an uncontrollable craving for human flesh. It was in a story. I don't remember it though. Possession or something," she said.

"Interesting. I'll look further into that."

"So, gimme more I can use against the big guy," she said with a mischievous smile.

"Well, there was one time a female dwarf attacked Red. It was quite comical. He didn't want to hit a woman. She bit his tail…" "Abe!" roared Hellboy from the doorway. "What the hell are you doing?"

"I…well…" Abe sputtered, caught off guard, not knowing what to do when he was caught doing something he shouldn't since he had a tendency to not get in trouble.

"Told you I have my sources," she winked.

"Little shit," he growled.

"You're just mad cause the only thing you have on me is I cracked my head open," Dez teased.

"And you think I'm cute," he smirked.

Dez scoffed, "Only when I'm half out of my mind from my brain swelling."

"That's enough, you two," the Professor said gently as he made his way down the stairs. "Hellboy has some answering to do."

"What'd I do this time?"

"You were spotted again," he said holding up a tabloid. "You can't sneak out, Hellboy. This is a _secret_ organization and Agent Manning is not pleased with your press coverage."

"Manning is never 'pleased'," he grumbled.

"I'm sorry, Hellboy. You are grounded," Broom said sternly. Dez could tell Hellboy was cursing in his head but keeping his mouth shut around his father. It was interesting seeing a sweet little old man ground a seven and a half foot demon. "Miss Salem, I believe you had a theory about these attacks," he said, changing the subject as Hellboy stormed out.

xxxxx

Dez had a day off and nothing to do. Abe was reading, the Professor was taking a nap, she didn't really know anyone else. She had read until her eyes were sore and now she was wandering around the halls. Hellboy hadn't left his room in three days and he refused to talk to anyone. Perfect. Dez would go bug Hellboy. It was after dinner and an agent stood guard outside Hellboy's oversized door. "Hellboy's not seeing anyone," the agent said as she walked up.

"I'm doing a follow up," she lied easily.

The agent gave a shrug and stood aside. "Alright. I'm going to get some coffee while you're with him." She nodded and went inside, closing the door behind her. It was dimly lit in Hellboy's room and Hellboy was nowhere to be seen.

A small cloud of smoke drifted from the ceiling a few feet in front of her before Hellboy's upper body appeared. He was doing sit ups while hanging from a metal rafter on his ceiling. "What do you want?" he grumbled with a lit cigar between his teeth.

"Maybe you to put a shirt on. So much red is blinding," she teased.

Hellboy rose up to the ceiling, grabbed the rafter with his stone hand and dropped down to the floor. "What? And cover _this_ body?" he scoffed, gesturing to his shirtless torso.

"Yes, _that_ one," Des said putting her hands on her hips.

"How'd you get in, anyway?" he said taking a drag on his cigar.

She shrugged, "Said I was doing a follow-up. Your guard went to get some coffee. Wanna sneak out?" Hellboy stared blankly at her like he couldn't believe what she had said. "Come on, you've been pouting for three days and I have nothing better to do on my day off. Get dressed." He snarled at the order. "Come on, big guy. What else have you got to do?"

Hellboy threw on a black t-shirt and a tan, oversized, trench coat and they were out the door within a minute. Dez stuck close to Hellboy as he made his way quickly and quietly through the unpopulated halls. Hellboy would pause when he would hear someone and change to a different hall. Before long, they were heading out a regular sized door, which seemed small compared to the others, at the back of the bureau. Hellboy walked a few yards before suddenly stopping, held out his flesh hand to sign Dez to stop as well. He waited a few seconds before hurrying on. Finally, when they were about a block away, Hellboy slowed to a casual pace and relaxed.

"Security cameras?" Dez guessed the reason for the random pauses. Hellboy nodded. "Do this often?"

"Not often enough, I still get caught sometimes," he said.

She laughed. "No matter how many times or how many ways you sneak out, most parents can sense something's up."

"Most?"

She shrugged. "Some don't pay attention enough to notice something is wrong, some don't give a shit. I can tell you though, when the Professor wakes up, he'll know."

Hellboy scoffed. "He doesn't catch me unless some rag runs a picture."

"No. He knows," she said with a small smile. "So, where to?"

He shrugged. "The park is usually empty by now." They made their way to the park within the city by way of back roads and alleys. All the while Dez gave Hellboy shit over the various stories Abe had told her. "I'm gunna kill that fish," Hellboy grumbled.

Dez laughed. "You try so hard to be the tough guy."

"I don't _try_ to be tough," he growled.

"Course not, big guy. Demons are just naturally teddy bears that get grounded by little old men and put up with a little human girl that teases him incessantly," she teased.

"He's not _that_ old," was his counter. Dez laughed. She stopped abruptly when she heard a couple men talking. She looked quickly to Hellboy to make sure he heard as well. He nodded to her and was up a fire escape within seconds. Dez continued walking, pretending to talk on her phone as a group of five men walked by the entrance to the alley. By their stumbling and slurring, they were obviously drunk. '_Great_. Please just keep walking,' she thought to herself. 'Shit,' was her next thought as one noticed her.

"Well, well. Hello there," said one of the men who was holding a half-empty beer bottle. Dez ignored him and continued to pretend to have a phone conversation. "Hey, I said 'hello'," the man said louder.

"Hi," she said dismissively and went back to her fake conversation.

"Where's your manners," asked a second man.

"I don't think she has any," said a third as Dez ignored the men.

"Maybe she ought to learn some," the first man said, handing off his beer to a fourth man. The third and fifth laughed. The first three men walked towards Dez.

"Look, boys. I don't have time for games, I've got to go," she said coldly and started to walk the opposite direction.

The first grabbed her arm. "You gotta learn some manners."

"I'm not the one in need of a lesson. Let go," she said warningly.

"Naw. I think you owe me an apology, and a kiss," he said with a drunken smirk.

"I said 'let go'," she stated in a low voice.

"Oh, we heard what you said," said the second as he and the third closed in. Dez put her hand on the wrist that was holding her. Seconds later the first man was on his knees yelling in pain about how his side hurt. Blood began seeping through his shirt.

"What the…?" said the fifth.

"I don't know what you did, but you're in deep shit now," said the third. The forth strode up and whacked her in the back of the head with the handed off beer bottle. Dez fell to the alley floor, the last thing she saw before everything turned black was a flash of red dropping from the fire escape.

xxxxx

More soon. By the way, I love reviews. Hint hint. J Hope you enjoyed.


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